School board meeting
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education meets in Malibu Thursday. The main item on the agenda is Superintendent John Deasy’s gift policy proposal. It would require 15 percent of all donations made to a school to go into a district equity fund. The money would then be redistributed to all the schools in the district based on a formula that takes several elements into consideration, including socioeconomic standing, student populations and education abilities. Also, if a nonmonetary donation is made, such as a playground or a computer lab, a cash equivalent of 15 percent of the value of that donation must be made to the equity fund.
At a PTA meeting last week, a number of Malibu parents lashed out at Deasy for the proposal, saying it would harm programs in the city’s schools that depend on donations. Others have praised the proposal as a step toward bringing equity to the district. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at Malibu High School.
LCP workshop
The second of two Local Coastal Program (LCP) City Council workshops takes place at City Hall on Saturday. The city is drafting its own LCP in response to the one the California Coastal Commission approved for Malibu in September 2002. At the workshop, the city’s consultant will take comments and recommendations from the council and the public. He will then take that information and the comments he received at the previous workshop to form a new LCP draft that will go before the council for approval in March.
One of several things could happen with the draft. An option many have praised is for the city to present its LCP to the Coastal Commission as amendments to the one the commission approved. Also, the city is involved in litigation to get the right to bring the choice of which LCP the people of Malibu prefer to a vote.
Students Against Homophobia
Pepperdine sophomore Grant Turck filed papers Friday to start a new student organization called Students Against Homophobia. In a press release issued by Turck, he wrote that the organization would “seek to simultaneously unify and educate the student body about homophobia and its effects.” Turck further wrote that he expects opposition to the organization from Pepperdine’s top administrators, citing the university’s refusal two years ago to officially recognize an organization students were trying to start called the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Alliance.
One Book, One City
In April, Malibuites will be reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” The classic novel about life during the Jazz Age was chosen for the second annual “One Book, One City – Malibu” month. A kick-off event will take place on April 3 at 2 p.m. at the Malibu Library. Several events will follow throughout April related to “The Great Gatsby.” Multiple copies of the book will be made available at the library and at other venues. Last year’s book was “Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger.
In memoriam
A scholarship fund has been set up in memory of Justin Helman, a 2003 graduate of Malibu High School who was killed in a car accident Jan. 24. Those wishing to contribute should send checks to Malibu High School, care of Penny Halpern, 30125 Morning View Drive, Malibu, CA, 90265. The check should be made out to Malibu High School Justin Helman Scholarship Fund.
Soldiers return
Malibu’s adopted unit of the 101st Airborne Division is back from Iraq. You can now write your pen-pal soldiers at their U.S. home base. The address is, A Co.2-327IN, Fort Campbell, KY 42223-500.
SMMUSD on film
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy is featured in a documentary that appears on PBS Wednesday and Thursday. Called, “First to Worst,” the documentary chronicles the rise and fall of California’s public school system. It plays on KOCE on Wednesday at 9 p.m. and on KCET on Thursday at 10 p.m.
Plant of the year
The California Water Environment Association (CWEA) has named the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility and Rancho Las Virgenes Composting Facility, “Plant of the Year for CWEA’s Los Angeles Basin Section. Tapia and Rancho are located along Las Virgenes Road, south of the Calabasas city boundary. Tapia handles about 9 million gallons of wastewater daily for 85,000 residents of western Los Angeles and eastern Ventura Counties. The water is treated and then reused for irrigation, indoor applications like flushing and other uses. Rancho then transforms solids extracted at Tapia into a rich, compost soil amendment. Tapia and Rancho serve the residents of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village, Oak Park, portions of Thousand Oaks and unincorporated areas of western Los Angeles County.